Clamping mechanism.



W. P. BOVARD.

CLAMPING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15, 1916.

Patented Mar, 4,1919.

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W. P. BOVARD;

CLAMPING MECHANISM,

APPLICATIONFILED DEC-15.1916.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 gvi/lwwooeo APPLICATION FILED DEC. l 5. I916.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

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CLAMPING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED DEC.15. i916.

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

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I anon H501; W/L LIAM I? Boll/1RD similar a-rtlcle for-thepurpose-ofsupporting UNITED .srarns WILLIAM I. IBIOVABD, F SZEIELjD, QHIO,ASSIGJENDR 110 THE. OHIO BRASS COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, A.CORPOBATIEON OF .NEW JERSEY.

CLAMPING MECHANI'SM.

Specification of Letters Pa ent- Patenited Mar.4, 1919.

Application med December 15, 1916. SerialNo.,137,164.

To all w'hom-c'tmay concern:

citizen of the United States, residing at Mansfield, in the county ofRichland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements '{G'lamping Mechanisms, of which the following is -aspecrfication.

My invention relates to a mechanlsm capable-of gripping a steel rail,girder or other thereby in 'rela'tion'to the rail, girder, etc,

a d'rilding machine, a reamer, rail bonding apparatus I or any devicetofbe attached to the rail, etc, and held in relation thereto.

My invention is particularly adapted to be used with-rails forsupportlng thereto yarious devices as by its 'use it 318 not necessaryto support the device by means which :overhang the head of the rail asisusual inmost devices which attach to the rail. The in vention is onewhich can be quickly detached and both operations invole'very littleeffort on the part of the operator. amp-roa ed clamping mechanism is soconstructed that its gripping or holding members engage the inner facesof the fiange-s on a rail, I beam,

channel iron, etc, and there are no parts which hold onto the railmember in any other manner, ftherefore my improved grlpping mechanism-is of the greatest value when :used in connection with rails over whichtrains are constantly passing as there is no interier'ence offered totrafiic.

I have shown-in -one figure a drill-supp orted to-a-rail by means of myinvention buhmy device is not limited to supporting drilling machinesonly butcan be used for attaching any other machine, device or articleas:may be required and for which it is suited. The machines with which itis used may be an integral part of :my invention or they may be aseparable part attached thereto by any well known means. 7

These ,and other new andusefu l objects as will appear jlater aresecured and attained by the :IIOVGl construction, combination andarrangement of partsoi which my invention isjcomposed and which willappear later as more full-ysdescribed-and claimed and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is atop plan view of my device in combination with a rail butnot showing any meanssupported thereby.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of my device attached between and tothe flanges of a rail. V i

Fig. 3 is an end elevation view of my device in combination ,With arail.

Fig.4 shows -a top plan view of my device not. attached to anysupporting means nor supporting any device itself.

' ig. 5 shows an-end elev-ationview of my invention only.

Fig.6 shows an elevation -=v iew of my invention not attached to asupport.

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the main supporting-member of my"invention.

Fi 8 shows a perspective view of a cap member of my invention forholding the wedge member in place.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are views from different points of one-form of myWedge member.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of the wedge member shown in -I*-igs. 10, 11and "9 and is taken on line 12-12 Fig. 10.

Figs. '13, 14B and 15 are various views of one form of releasing pinwhich I use.

Fig. 16 is an-end elevation view of my invention in combination with arail and a drilling machine but nothing is claimed as to theconstruction of the drilling machine.

Referring to the construction as {disclosed by the drawings, numeral =1represents a body member best shown in Fig. "7, numeral 2 represents awedge member shown clearly in F igss9,fll0, 11 and 12, and numeral 8represents-a releasing pin better shown in Figs. 13, 14 and 15. Numeralirepresents a cover for retaining the wedge "2 in position in the body;

The body 1 is provided with a seat 5 at each end in which-slides theWedge 2 and is retained in place by thecover 4 and which is :held inplace by means .of screws '6 enteringthread-ed holes 7. v

The :body member "1 is provided with'holes 8 in which slides thereleasing pin 3 and held 'frombeing removed by' the screw"9 whichengages a cutaway portion 10 of releasing pin 3.

The wedge 2 is provided with extension parts 11 terminating in a chiseledge '12, the extension 1 1 fitting in slots '13 of body 1 and whichhave a greater width than that of the wedge part 11 (see Fig. a),thereby allowing freedom of movement of the wedge 2 with respect to thebody 1 in a longitudinal direction or approximately so.

The releasing pin 3 is provided witha beveled face 15 at one end whichengages with a beveled face 16 on the wedge 2 and the assembled relationof these two parts and faces is shown in Fig. 4. The pin 3' is slidabletoward and away from the wedge. The body 1 is provided with an extension14 which may be variously shaped and constructed to meet requirementsand is intended for the attachmentof a machine such as a drill, bondingdevice, etc, and can.

form either an integral union between my holding mechanism and a machineor it can be arranged for attaching to such a machine, thereby making itpossible to use one holding device with various machines.

The operation of my invention is as follows; the wedges 2 are pulled outor away from each other as far as possible and the body with itsattachments is then placed in position up against the rail as shown inFigs, 1, 2 and 3. With a lighthammer the operator drives in theextensions 17,:therebv forcing the wedges 2 obliquely toward each otherand toward the longitudinal axis of the support and causing theircutting edges 12 to be forced into the faces of the rail flanges 18.

I have. found by actual experience that while the distance that theedges 12 cut into the surfaces 18 is not more than of an. inch orslightly more, stlll my lmproved attaching device will require manyhundred pounds pull to remove it from the rail.

To remove my device fromthe rail after installation, I provide the pins8 already described and it is. only necessary to tap the outer ends ofthese pins with a light hammer and the wedges will be forced outward oraway from each other due to the wedging force set up between the faces15 and 16 (Fig. 4). V

I have found my invention of particular value in drilling holes for bondterminals in rails where it requires a true and smooth hole and whichcan be secured only by having the drill bit held preferably rigid withrespect to the rail and where my device is used the drill will be heldabsolutely rigid during its operation.

I have found by actual experience that my device can be simplified byarranging to use only one wedge member and without departing from thenovelty herein disclosed.

My device is also of particular advantage for supporting apparatus andin electrically applying bonding when interruption to the process bytraflic is not only annoying but detrimental to successful results. Inthe construction of my invention I have found the best results to besecured when it is intended to adapt the device to rails having beveledfaces such as 18 (Fig. 3) to make the chisel edge of the wedges and thedirection of the movement of the wedges in the body 1 such that when thedevice is placed against the rail and the wedges pushed inward by handthat the edges 12 of the wedges will make contact with the faces 18 forapproximately the full length of the edges 12. With this arrangement ofparts as the wedge is driven farther toward the center it will cutfarther into the face 18. This device differs in principle andconstruction from others in which the'wedges operate away from eachother and toward the surfaces to which they are to attach and I ammaking no claim for such construction.

I have fully describedmy improved'holding device embodied in myinvention and illustrated same by drawings and as my invention issubject to many changes and alterations by one skilled inthe art, I donot wish to be restricted to the exact construction shown and describedexcept as required by the scope of the amended claims :and what I claimas new and which I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

to a support provided with a flange or I flanges consisting in firstpositioning in juxtaposition to one side only of the support a holdingdevice provided with a slidable. gripping member or members to engagethe surface of the flange or flanges, then moving the gripping member ormembers obliquely toward the support along the surface of the flange orflanges and simultaneously fore--v ing the gripping member or membersinto constantly increasing engagement with the surface of the flange orflanges to embed the gripping memberor members into the surface of theflange or flanges.

2. The method of forming an attachment to a support provided withoppositely dis posed flanges consisting in first positioning. to oneside'only of the support a holding device provided with a movableone-piece wedge havingoppositely disposed cutting edges, then slidingthe'wedge along the surface of the flanges combined with a'donstantlyincreasing pressure upon the faces of the flanges until the edges of thewedge are seated below the surface of the flanges, to form asecure-attachment 3.'The method of making attachment to track railsconsisting in positioning on one side only of therail and between thehead and base flanges thereof a body member provided with a wedge memberhaving engaging cutting edges moving toward the rail and engaging theopposing beveled faces of the'head and base, then moving the wedgemember toward the rail at an oblique angle have sufficiently engaged theopposing beveled faces of the rail by means of the combination of aconstantly increasing engaging pressure and a slidingmovement over thebeveled face of the head and base to embed the cutting edges into thebeveled faces of the rail.

4. The combination of a holding mechanism and a track rail, the holdingmechanism consisting of a body member positioned between the head andbase of the rail on one side of the rail only, one or more wedge membersslidably mounted in the body member to operate toward the web of therail in an oblique direction thereto and enga ing edges on the wedgemembers contacting with the engaging and oppositely beveled faces of therail head and base on one side of the rail only when the wedge isobliquely moved as described.

5. A holding device for attachment to a track rail consisting in thecombination of a body member, a one-piece wedge member slidably mountedin the body member to move toward the rail web and at an anglecorresponding to a plane extending obliquely to the support and at rightangles to the lower face of the rail base, and oppositely disposedengaging edges on the wedge member extending beyond the faces of thebody member engaging the opposing beveled faces of the rail base andhead on one side only of the rail to secure the device to the rail.

6. A holding device adapted for engagement to a support provided withflanges having oppositely disposed beveled faces comprising incombination, a body member, wedge members slidably mounted in the bodymember and oppositely disposed cutting edges combined with the wedgemember to engage the beveled faces of the support flanges, the cuttingedges being angu larly disposed with respect to each other and eachcutting edge approximately coinciding with the angle of the beveled faceof the support at the line of engagement of the two, the Wedge memberand cutting edges being positioned and moving in a direction coincidingwith a plane cutting both support flanges and extending obliquely to thesupport.

7 A holding device for attachment to a support provided with a flange orflanges comprising in combination a body member, one or more one-pieceWedge members slidably mounted in the body member to en gage the supportflange or flanges, cutting edges on the engaging wedge member ormembers, the wedge member or members moving in a direction coincidingwith a movable in a lateral direction toward and away from each otherand toward and away from one edge of the body member.

9. In a holding device, the combination of a body member, a one-piecewedge member slidably mounted at each end of the body member and havingengaging edges extending above and below the faces of the body member,the wedge members being disposed in inclined planes with respect to eachother and movable in a lateral direction toward and away from each otherand toward and away from the back edge of the body member, each of thewedges having a surface adapted to receive impact forces for moving itin its path and means engaging one side of each wedge for moving it awayform the other.

10. A holding device comprising in combination a body member,nonextendible wedge members and oppositely disposed cuting edges on thewedge member or members, the wedges positioned in and moving only in thedirection of planes angularly disposed to each other and the wedgesengages the flanges of the rail on one side of the rail and securing theholding device thereto.

11. An article of manufacture comprising a body member, one or morediagonally placed slots therein, non-extendible lamping wedgespositioned and secured in a slot or slots to engage the support andsecure the article of manufacture thereto and means operated by impactto engage the wedges and release them from engagement with the support.

12. An article of manufacture comprising a body member, a drillingmechanism combined therewith and non-extendible wedge member or membersadapted to engage the flanges of a rail at one side of the rail andsecuring the article of manufacture and the drilling mechanism inposition on the rail.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM P. BOVARD.

Witnesses:

C. MARKS, W. A. DARRAH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

